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David Elliott (1799-1855)
}} Biography Zions Camp Participant One of the most interesting episodes in the early history of LDS Church was the march of Zion's Camp (1834). The members of the Church in Missouri were being persecuted, and the Prophet Joseph made it a matter of prayer and received a revelation on February 24, 1834. The Lord instructed the Prophet to assemble at least one hundred young and middle-aged men and to go to the land of Zion, or Missouri. (See D&C 130:19–34.) Zion’s Camp, a group of approximately one hundred and fifty men, gathered at Kirtland, Ohio, in the spring of 1834 and marched to Jackson County, Missouri. By the time they reached Missouri, the camp had increased to approximately two hundred men. In 1834, David participated in Zion's Camp, the mission to succor the suffering saints in Missouri. Whether he was a blacksmith by avocation is not known, but he did perform smithing duty for Zion's Camp, shodding the hooves of the horses. Perhaps because of the faithfulness he displayed on the Missouri expedition, he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy, being ordained in 1835. Kirtland Charges On October 29, 1835, he was charged by William Smith (1832-1876), the Prophet's brother, with whipping his daughter (presumably, the afore mentioned Lucena) unreasonably. The Prophet Joseph Smith was called to testify. He stated, "My testimony was in Brother Elliott's favor, from conversation with the parents and the girl at their house in Chagrin, I was satisfied that the girl was in the fault, and that the neighbors were trying to create a difficulty." Later the same day, Sister Elliott's case came before the High Council. The Prophet's mother, Lucy Mack Smith was called to testify. She began to testify of events which had previously been settled. Joseph objected as to the relevancy to the case at hand. He was challenged by his brother William and the matter almost came to blows. (See History of the Church, Volume II, page 293-295) "The decision of the Council in the case of Brother Elliott was 'that the complaint was not without foundation, yet the charge has not been fully sustained, but he has acted injudiciously and brought a disgrace upon himself, his daughter, and upon this Church, because he ought to have trained his child in a way that she would not have required the rod at the age of fifteen years.' Brother Elliot made his confession and was forgiven. Sister Elliot confessed her wrong and promised to do better, consequently the Council forgave her. And they were both restored to fellowship." Missouri Persecutions As the winds of Apostasy swirled around Kirtland, David and a number of the other Seventy determined to leave the city and emigrate to Zion as part of the Kirtland Camp. He arrived in Missouri as the Missouri persecutions reach a crescendo and was forced to emigrate again, this time to Illinois, settling for a time at Springfield. His wife Margery died in 1837 or very early 1838, perhaps as a result of the privations of the persecution she endured. On March 11, 1838 Elder Elliott married his fourth wife, Miranda Reynolds. She bore him five children before her death in 1846 at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Mount Pleasant is on one of the many routes followed by the Mormon Trail, so we may speculate that her death, like Margery's was as a result of persecution. Elder Elliot's fifth wife was Margaret Straway, whom he married in 1848 at the aforementioned Mount Pleasant.Two children are listed for this marriage. Unlike the first four wives, Margaret would live long, dieing in Salt Lake City in 1901. Having suffered with the saints in Illinois and sojourned in Iowa, at some point Elder Elliott resumed his journey westward, trudging the long miles of the Mormon Trail to the Great Basin. Marriage and Family Widower 4 times / Married 5 times. Vital Records References * Elder David Elliott - Grandpa Bill's GA Pages